Of course, as lesbians, their April union would also be considered illegal should a conventional wedding contract be part of the plan.

Legalities aside, the commitment ceremony to join Cass and Mary will be just about as traditional as it gets. In fact, they're using the template for a classic rural Tasmanian wedding.

"We'll have a celebrant, I'll be wearing a dress, you'll be wearing a suit," Ms Gladwell said.

"And our dads will walk us to the front; we'll have our grandmothers' rings" said Ms McLean.

"And we'll have a big three-tiered cake and a band, you know," added Ms Gladwell.

"We'll dance the night away in a small rural hall. All of that stuff."

In lieu of a wedding contract, they have hit upon another legal action they can take to mark what they see as the significance of their bond.

"We are both going to change our names," Ms Gladwell said.

"We're joining half of her surname and half of mine... so Macwell!"

It hurts when people don't want you to be part of their society

Cass Gladwell

Same-sex marriage remains illegal in Australia although two bills were introduced to the Federal Senate in 2014 aimed at changing that.

Until major law reforms in 2009, there were issues of equality for same-sex couples when it came to taxation, superannuation and social security. In fact, until that time there was an issue with being officially recognised as a couple at all.

Today, couples like Cass and Mary can apply to be recognised as 'domestic partners'. They can also consider travelling overseas to marry but as Ms Gladwell makes clear, it would change nothing for them at home.